


Reflections in the Moonlight

by Otts486



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: Angst, Isekai, Sequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:40:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26647657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Otts486/pseuds/Otts486
Summary: A sort of sequel to "The sun's gentle hands" I wrote a while back. Soleil has warped to the world her parents grew up in and finds herself meeting their younger counterparts in a world ruined by despair.
Relationships: Azur | Inigo/Serena | Severa
Kudos: 17





	Reflections in the Moonlight

Soleil’s muffled groan rumbled into the grass below. Her entire body rang with a resounding aching pain. Gods, where the hell even was she?! She pushed herself from the ground and shook her head. The last thing she could remember was rushing towards the exit of her deeprealm after her father…

A cool breeze brushed through her hair as she simply sat silently in the light of the bloodred moon. She wiped the tears from her face and shook her head. This was no time to be moping! She had to keep smiling just like her father told her. So long as she kept smiling, everything would be ok. 

Her lips curved into a bright smile as she rose to her feet. And besides, if anything happened, she had the crystal her father gave her to…

Soleil paused for a moment and looked down into her empty hands. Sweat rushed down her face as her heart began to pound uncontrollably. 

“Ahhh! Where did it go?!” She cried out.

She dropped to her knees and frantically began to search the surrounding area. After about thirty minutes of feeling around the floor, climbing nearby trees, and tearing through bushes, Soleil flopped onto her back and sighed. Well, there goes that little memento. Oh well, at least she still had her mother’s sword. Speaking of her mother, Soleil took a moment to look at her bangs. Although hard to see, they looked to be of a different color than before. Not a deep crimson red but more of a bright snowy white. Things just kept getting stranger and stranger.

Soleil looked up at the cold dark sky. Wherever she was, the sky was still as dark as it always was. It was so cold and quiet just like it was in the deeprealms. Every night she would look up at the night sky just like this and wonder when she would see her parents again.

_“Pl-please….y-you m-must….r….u…n”_

Those words echoed across her mind as she saw her father’s bloody body hanging over her. Her heart sank as those memories began to circulate through her head.

\---

_“Why do you have to go?” Soleil asked her parents with wide watery eyes. “Why can’t you stay here with me? It’s so lonely without you”_

_Both of her parents fell silent for a moment as they looked at each other. Her mother sighed._

_“We just can’t, alright,” She said, without meeting her daughter in the eyes, “It’s complicated alright! We just don’t…” Her mother trailed off as the grip around her arm tightened. “It’s just as retainers we…” Her eyes dropped to the floor as she hesitated to finish that sentence, “W-We have a duty to protect our lieges!” She finally spat out. Although, somehow those words seemed to lack weight._

_“Sev…”_

_Her mother shot a glare at her husband before he could finish._

_Soleil’s heart sank at those words, “so then you care more about them than me, huh,” she said as her eyes hit the floor. A couple of tears dripped from her lavender-colored eyes._

_“That’s not…” her mother said._

_“Soleil…” her father spoke before kneeling in front of her, “Come on look at me”_

_Soleil looked up to see her father’s bright smile. He reached over to wipe the tears from her eyes. His hand was warm and comforting. It was a familiar feeling that put her at ease._

_“Now come on put on a smile for me,”_

_She did as instructed and smiled back at her father._

_“There, you feel better?”_

_She merely nodded._

_Her mother smiled as she looked down at the two of them._

_“That idiot…”_

_“Soleil, listen to me” Her father began, “Your mother and I only do this because we love you. Trust me when I say we understand how lonely and scared you must feel right now”_

_“Y-You do?”_

_“Of course we do!” her mother said as she knelt down beside her father, “and that’s why…” she trailed off as her eyes once again hit the floor._

_“And that’s why we have to go, in order to create a world where you can be happy and strong” Her father finished._

_“Inigo…” Her mother blushed before shaking her head. She looked back at Soleil with another smile, “yeah, for as stupid as your father can be, he’s right for once,”_

_Her father laughed, “Did you just say I was right about something?”_

_At this, her mother blushed, “N-No I didn’t, you idiot! Y-You just misheard me, that’s all!”_

_“No, I think I heard you pretty clearly,”_

_Her mother’s face looked like a ripe tomato at this point._

_“Sh-Shut up! You moron!”_

_Soleil laughed, “Mama’s cute when she’s angry”_

_“N-Not you too.” She then glared at her father before delivering a swift punch to his noggin, “What the hell have you been teaching her?!”_

_“Owww- Nothing I swear!”_

_“you better not be lying or I’ll have to knock some more sense into you”_

_Her mother crossed her arms and huffed, “ I swear I don’t know how I put up with you sometimes”_

_Soleil laughed again at her parents’ antics._

_“Thanks, Mama, thanks, Papa, I think I feel better now”_

_Her parents then smiled back at her._

_“Goodbye, Soleil, we’ll be back soon, promise...”_

\---

Tears drizzled out of Soleil’s eyes as she recalled that day. A light breeze brushed through her hair and caressed her cheek. It really was lonely without them. For several more moments, Soleil sat alone in the dancing light of the bloodred moon.

A loud growl then erupted from her stomach. Soleil sighed at the sound of her empty stomach. 

“Well, I guess moping around here isn’t gonna do me any good,” Soleil jumped to her feet, “Might as well go see if there’s a town or something nearby,” She grinned, “And maybe cute innkeeper to give her a place to stay for the night”

The rustling of some nearby bushes then caught her attention. Soleil turned her head to see two glowing red dots floating in the darkness between two trees. It wasn’t even a second later that an ear-shattering roar pierced her ears. The red dots darted from the darkness and revealed themselves to be the eyes of a large purple-skinned humanoid monster. 

“What the hell is that?!” Soleil said as she instinctively drew her sword. 

The monster charged and swung a sword at her. Soleil ducked and with a flick of her wrist, slashed at the monster. Her blade dug into the monster’s rough purple flesh only for it to look unfazed. The monster looked down and roared. It gripped its sword with both hands and stabbed down towards Soleil’s back. Instinctively, Soleil let go of her mother’s sword and rolled to the side, as the monster stabbed itself through the chest. An inhuman screech of pain erupted from the beast’s mouth as it fizzled out into a purple mist.

“What was that?!” Soleil said in disbelief before moving to pick up her sword.

More rustling bushes tugged at her ear once again. She looked over to see a few more of those _things_ emerge from the darkness. A dark purple mist oozed from their bodies and spread across the floor like a swamp. Scars, scrapes, puncture holes, and all manner of wounds covered their bodies, but the most distinguishing feature was that mask. A disheveled old maks with two piercing red eyes. It damn near sent shivers down her spine.

_More of them?!_

Soleil swallowed the lump in her throat and readied her blade. Were these the things that invaded her deeprealm? She quickly shook her head. No, those soldiers had a somewhat different feel to them. She couldn’t quite explain it but these things felt different and almost familiar, somehow. 

An explosion of inhuman screeching swept through the air as the monsters began to charge. Soleil gripped the hilt of her sword and swung it at the first monster. The monster’s neck cracked as it looked back at her. Its arms swung around intent on slicing her in half with a silver ax. Soleil quickly blocked the strike with her sword. She winced as her feet scraped across the dirt. 

_So heavy…_

Another growl pulled at her ears. She looked back to see another monster charging at her from behind. Her heart pounded as her mind frantically raced to find a way out of this. She closed her eyes and took a quick breath. She just had to calm down. Summoning her strength, she pushed the ax away. The monster stumbled back as Soleil thrust forward. The monster screeched in pain as her blade tore through its chest. She pulled her other arm close to put the shield between her and the other monster’s attack. She gripped the hilt of her blade and ripped it up through the monster’s body. 

Her lungs seemed to scrunch in even tighter with each raspy breath she took. That combined with her empty stomach, she was starting to feel dizzy. 

“One down,” She looked back at the monster behind her., “one to go…”

She pivoted her heel to shake the monster off. However, the world around her suddenly blurred away as she found herself slamming into the ground. Her stomach roared and her lungs tightened up like a ribbon. She looked up to see the monster’s eyes beaming down at her. Every cell in her body seemed to freeze up as her life began to flash before her eyes. The monster roared and raised its sword.

Soleil closed her eyes and embraced herself for the worst. However, it never came. She heard two familiar voices cry out followed by an inhuman screech of pain. 

“Hey, are you alright?” A familiar voice asked.

Slowly, Soleil opened her eyes. Her heart froze at what she saw. The spitting image of her father stood above her with his hand outstretched. His warm familiar smile beaming down on her like that of the gentle morning sun. Her heart shattered as tears began to pool in her eyes.

“Is something wrong?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Y-You’re alive…” Soleil said as she jumped and wrapped her arms around him, “Papa!”

“Wait hold on! Papa?!” He said as the two stumbled back. 

“I thought you died,” Soleil sniffed as she dug her tear-stained face into his shoulder.

“Died?! Wait what’s going on here?!”

“Wait, you don’t recognize me?” Soleil asked as she pulled herself away. Her heart began to sink.

“Can’t say that I do,” he said before putting on his signature smile, “a face as cute as yours isn’t so easily forgotten”

“But I’m your…”

Soleil’s eyes and heart crashed into the floor. Tears rushed back and sparkled in the crimson moon’s light. How could he forget her? What...what was going on? Was this really her father? He looked like him and sounded like him. There wasn’t mistaking that warm familiar smile either. Just what was going on?

“Hey, what’s wrong?” He asked, “I’m sorry if I said anything to upset you”

Soleil wiped the tears from her eyes and shook her head.

“No, it’s nothing…” She sniffed, “It’s just that you remind me of someone I know that died recently, that’s all”

She probably shouldn’t press it any further. It was clear this man didn’t know who she was despite how much he looked like her father. For now, she just needed to figure out where she was and what was going on.

“So, don’t worry about it” She said with a smile.

“Well, alright then” He smiled back, “My name is Inigo by the way, and what might your lovely name be?”

Inigo? Her father said something about that name, didn’t he? What was it again? She couldn’t quite remember

“It’s Soleil”

“Soleil, huh? What a beautiful name, it fits you perfectly”

“Really?” Soleil blinked, “Th-Thanks”

“Your smile seems to shine just as bright as the sun itself,” Inigo nodded, “It kinda reminds of…” He hesitated, “...someone I once knew...”

His smile seemed to fade as those words were stolen by the air. She noticed a thin layer of tears glistening in the moonlight. But before Soleil could say anything, he quickly shook his head and smiled once more. However, this smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. Something about it felt odd. It felt almost fake.

“But enough about that, We should get going,” He said as he began walking towards the path behind her, “It’ll get dangerous once more risen start showing up so let’s head back to a camp I have set up nearby”

“Risen? What are those?”

Inigo stopped and looked back with a raised eyebrow, “You don’t know what risen are? But weren’t you just attacked by them?”

SO that’s what those things were.

“Oh...right…”

“Don’t worry about it,” he gave her a reassuring smile, “Let’s just go, It sounds like you could use something to eat”

How did he? A monstrous roar then erupted from her stomach causing her face to flush red in embarrassment. She shook her head and followed him

\------

“And here we are,” Inigo said as he showed her into the camp. “Follow me, I’ll show you where we keep all the food”

“Right” she nodded.

Soleil took a moment to look around as they walked through the camp. It looked like a typical war camp. Plenty of large tents and campfires were strewn about the area. Crates, barrels, and racks used for storage. It was all pretty standard, really. Though, she couldn’t quite shake this feeling of hopelessness that hung in the air. It was almost suffocating. Everyone in the camp looked like a wreck covered in wounds and torn up clothing. Some of them looked like they hadn’t eaten in days. She looked back at Inigo. Even his clothes seemed to be torn up in several places. It was a little too dark to really notice before. Though, what really stung at her heart were all the dejected looks on their faces. It was like they all had lost something close to them. 

“Inigo!” Soleil heard a familiar voice call out to them.

She looked over to see a white-haired girl who looked strikingly similar to her mother stomp towards them. She recognized that scowl anywhere. Her mom was always scowling for one reason or another. But that particular look in her eyes was one reserved for whenever her dad did something stupid. 

“Oh hello Severa,” Inigo stopped as he noticed her approach, “You look as lovely as ever this evening,” He flashed her his trademark smile.

“Don’t pull that trash with me, you moron!” She snapped at him, “Where the hell have you been?! Do you know how long I’ve been looking for you?! Huh?!”

“Sorry, Severa I just a bright flash of light in the forest and went to investigate,” He tried to explain himself, “I didn’t mean to make you worry”

At this, Severa blushed, “Wh-Who said I was worried about you?! Why would I worry about a moron like you!” She scowled at him once more. “I-I was just trying to make sure you weren’t getting into any trouble! That’s all!”

Soleil smiled at the display before her. She was just as easy to tease like her mother too. She was every bit as adorable as her mother was.

Severa then turned her attention to Soleil, “and who the hell is that? And why is she following you?” She glared at him, “I take my eyes off of you for one second! I swear you better not have done anything weird!”

“Severa, i-it’s not like that I swear!” Inigo put his hands up in defense, “I found her being attacked by some risen and brought her back because she didn’t have anywhere else to go”

Severa narrowed her eyes. She looked at Inigo then to Soleil. 

“I’m Soleil,” She said with a smile, “It’s nice to meet you, cutie,” She said with a wink.

“C-Cutie?!” Severa’s face flushed a bright red. Her hand tightened to fist and slammed into Inigo’s head.

“OW! Severa, why’d you hit me?!” Inigo whined as he rubbed the newly formed bump on his head.

“C-Cause you’re an idiot! That’s why!” She crossed her arms while still clearly flustered.

Soleil couldn’t help but laugh. They really did act just like her parents. It was like they were alive again watching the two like this. It was almost nostalgic. It was like when they visited her deeprealm all those years ago. She felt her heart twist as soon her laughter turned into a mess of ugly sobs and tears. It was a warm and familiar feeling that she couldn’t quite describe. One that she hadn’t felt in a long time and that she dearly missed. 

_“Mama! Papa!” A young Soleil ran up and leaped into her mother’s arms, “I missed you so much!” She said with a wide smile._

_“We've missed you too, Soleil,” her father smiled back and patted her on the head._

“Mama, Papa, I missed you so much…” She repeated to herself in between sobs, “It was… s-so l-lonely without you...so pl-please st-stay just a little longer…”

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this a couple of days ago for SF's write your butt off competition. I was hesitant about posting it at first but why not. I may add more chapters to this as time goes on. Hell, I may even rewrite it so yeah. I hope you enjoyed it.


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